Dive Brief:

• A new report from the European biofuel industry and additional non-governmental agencies found that, by 2030, 16% of auto fuel used in Europe could be created using waste from municipal trash, farming and forestry.
• These industries collectively generate 900 million metric tons of potential biofuel feedstock annually. Certain waste from each industry have the capability of eliminating between 60% to 300% of the greenhouse gas emissions released from fossil fuels.
• The benefits from using these materials is that a reliance on waste would not increase demand for agriculture and biofuels do not typically compete with food crops, so food prices would likely not increase.

Dive Insight:

A large amount of municipal solid waste is currently being recycled in Europe. However, the research determined that recycling was more viable that reaping the raw energy content from the waste. Converting these materials also greatly reduces the need for discarding it in landfills.